Hotlines

National Suicide Prevention Life Line

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. By dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255), the call is routed to the nearest crisis center in a national network of more than 150 crisis centers. The Lifeline’s national network of local crisis centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals day and night.

Alaska Native Medical Center’s Tobacco Information Line

The Tobacco Prevention Program works with partners across the state and within the Alaska Tribal Health System to offer training and technical assistance to tobacco prevention programs. Program services for partners include: assistance on improving tobacco treatment protocols in health care settings; distribution of tobacco prevention education resources; rural community assistance to promote and implement interventions to curb tobacco use; and advocacy for statewide tobacco prevention efforts.

Trainings

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Trainers (ASISTS)

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is for everyone 16 or older—regardless of prior experience—who wants to be able to provide suicide first aid. Shown by major studies to significantly reduce suicidality, the ASIST model teaches effective intervention skills while helping to build suicide prevention networks in the community.

Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention training

The Gatekeeper training trains people to recognize a crisis and the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide. Gatekeepers include parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, nurses, police officers, advisors, caseworkers, firefighters, and many others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide. A Gatekeeper will learn to recognize the warning signs of suicide, know how to offer hope, and know how to get help and save a life.

Mental Health First Aid training

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The training helps individuals identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

Positive Discipline

Positive Discipline is a program designed to teach young people to become responsible, respectful and resourceful members of their communities. Positive Discipline teaches important social and life skills in a manner that is deeply respectful and encouraging for both children and adults (including parents, teachers, childcare providers, youth workers, and others).

Suicide Alertness for Everyone (safeTALK)

SafeTALK is a half-day training program that teaches participants to recognize and engage persons who might be having thoughts of suicide and to connect them with community resources trained in suicide intervention. SafeTALK stresses safety while challenging taboos that inhibit open talk about suicide. The ‘safe’ of safeTALK stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’. The ‘TALK’ letters stand for the practice actions that one does to help those with thoughts of suicide: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe.

Curriculum & School Resources

Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement

The Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement is part of the Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB). The mission is to advocate for children and youth by assisting school boards in providing quality public education focused on student achievement, through effective local governance.

American Indian Life Skills Development Curriculum

American Indian Life Skills Development is a school-based suicide prevention curriculum designed to address suicidality by reducing suicide risk and improving protective factors among American Indian adolescents 14 to 19 years old.

Booster Buddy

BoosterBuddy is a free app designed to help teens and young adults improve their mental health. It allows them to manage their personal wellness journey as they work to establish and sustain positive habits through using coping skills, checking in with how they’re feeling each day, following self-care routines, increasing real-life socialization, and tracking appointments and mediation.

Alliance for a Healthier Generation

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a catalyst for children’s health. They work with schools, community organizations, healthcare professionals and families to transform the conditions and systems that lead to healthier kids. The goal is to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity and to empower kids to develop lifelong, healthy habits. They offer a Healthy Schools Program, Out-of-School Time Framework, and leadership program to help promote healthy habits and lifestyles for children.

Kids & Teens Against Bullying

PACER’s Kids Against Bullying is a bullying prevention website created by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. It is a creative, innovative, and educational website designed for elementary school students to learn about bullying prevention, engage in activities and be inspired to take action.

SOS Signs of Suicide is a secondary school-based suicide prevention program that includes screening and education. Students are screened for depression and suicide risk and referred for professional help. The program aims to prevent suicide attempts, increase knowledge about suicide and depression, develop desirable attitudes toward suicide and depression, and increase help-seeking behavior among youth.

School Suicide Prevention and Accreditation Program

The American Association of Suicidology offers an accreditation program that trains schools to instill evidence-based suicide prevention practices, prevention and postvention principles, how to reintegrate a student after a suicide attempt, how to identify risk factors for youth suicide, how to assess a youth at risk, how to deal with parents of a youth at risk and how to deal with contagion.

Teck John Baker Youth Leadership Program

The Teck John Baker Youth Leaders Program is built on the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation’s Natural Helper curriculum, and has been adapted to conform to the Alaska Native Inupiaq culture. Operating on the premise that youth seek support and guidance first from their friends when they have problems, the program identifies young people (mostly high school students) who are respected and trusted by their peers, and trains them to be effective supports and role models in their school and village communities.

The 4 Rs (Strategies for Healthy Youth Relationships)

The Fourth R is a consortium of researchers and professionals dedicated to promoting healthy adolescent relationships and reducing risk behaviors. They work with schools, parents, and community organizations to promote the neglected “R” (for Relationships) and help build this Fourth R in school climates.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) helps monitor the prevalence of behaviors that put Alaskan youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems that can occur during adolescence and adulthood. It serves as a prevention, intervention planning and evaluation tool. The YRBS survey is a school-based survey of high school students administered in cooperation with the Department of Education & Early Development.

Service Organizations

Alaska Native Medical Center

The Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) offers comprehensive medical services and acute, specialty, primary and behavioral health care to more than 143,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Alaska.

Research

Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR)

The Center for Alaska Native Health Research is a collaborative research entity that works with Alaska Native communities, organizations and individuals. CANHR research, faculty and staff work with tribal groups and health care agencies to frame research questions, develop methodologies and procedures, and to interpret and apply data to prevention and treatment.

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

The NIMHD leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities. NIMHD plans, coordinates, reviews and evaluates minority health and health disparities research and activities of the National Institutes of Health, translates and disseminates research information and fosters innovative collaborations and partnerships.

UCLA Health Policy: American Indian Research Program

The American Indian Research Program (AIRP) focuses on the scarcity of resources and data on a broad range of American Indian and Alaska Native health topics, from obesity to cancer survival to suicide and mental health issues. The program draws upon expertise and partnership with other researchers and community groups and works directly to improve the health of American Indian populations through native-grounded research and evaluation.

Teens Acting Against Violence (TAAV)

TAAV is a program through the Tundra Women's Coalition in Bethel, Alaska. The program promotes peer education, healthy relationships and activities, and peer leadership through a culturally appropriate framework.

Alaska Postvention Resource Guide

The guide is for anyone in a community who is willing and able to help lay the groundwork for postvention. Whether it is a school or village official, health aide or a concerned parent, the guide enables people to help individuals and their community act in case of a suicide.

Parenting & Family Resources

Alaska Youth and Family Network

Alaska Youth and Family Network is a non-profit organization offering a peer-run, peer-delivered service creating effective and inclusive behavioral health treatment systems for Alaska’s children, youth and families. Through individual support groups, peer navigation, and parent coaching, they provide the support necessary to help families with the challenges of parenting and understanding education and behavioral health systems.

Thread Alaska

Thread is a statewide network of professionals who work individually with families and early educators to ensure that they are knowledgeable and supported in guiding children to lifelong success. Thread provides early care and education services for young children, as well as educational programs that enable parents to meet the needs of their families.

Suicide Prevention Organizations

Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council

The Statewide Suicide Prevention Council advises the governor and legislature on issues relating to suicide. In collaboration with communities, faith-based organizations, and public-private entities, the Council works to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans by reducing suicide and its effect on individuals and communities.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI offers educational programs, advocacy services and a toll-free HelpLine.

Other Wellness Organizations

Ketchikan Wellness Coalition

SPEAK (Suicide Prevention Education and Awareness Ketchikan) is an active task force of mental health care providers, educators, elected officials, clergy, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, parents, students, community groups, and others working together to maintain community-wide suicide awareness in Ketchikan and the surrounding communities. SPEAK is an all-volunteer task force of the Ketchikan Wellness Coalition.